My favorite book this year is Best Laid Plans by Terry Fallis. It is a terrific Canadian political satire. The novel takes place in Ottawa . The plot involves a crusty, old, engineering professor named Angus McLintock. A deal is struck between Daniel Addison and Angus (Daniel’s landlord). Angus agrees to let his name stand in an election that no one thinks he can win and Daniel agrees to teach Angus` English class to first year engineering students. Check out http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/f/terry-fallis/best-laid-plans.htm for more details. The book is extremely funny with a very riveting plot. I worried that my enjoyment of the book might be partly due to the fact that I lived in Ottawa for almost 20 years and worked for the House of Commons for 7 years. However based on the many awards that the book has won, I am not alone in recommending Best Laid Plans.

September 22th marks the beginning of Banned Book in the United States. The ALA (American Library Association)posts both challenged and Banned books. Challenged books are books that groups or parents are trying to restrict or remove material. A Challenged book isn't just because their (parents, or groups) are expressing an opinion: They are trying to get the book removed from library shelves, curriculum and trying to restrict access to anyone wanting to read said book.

Example of Challenged books for the year 2012

Captain Underpants (series), by Dav Pilkey. Reasons: Offensive language, unsuited for age group

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie. Reasons: Offensive language, racism, sexually explicit, unsuited for age group

This will be the first of what I hope will be by monthly reviews. Either book or author reviews. Today I've decided on an author review of Karen Marie Moning. (awesome!) I've been reading Ms. Moning from the beginning. She started with historical (time travelish) romance. She loves her highlanders and so do we She had a bit of trouble for about 1/2 a minute when her Fae series came out and people realized it wasn't a HEA (happy ever after) type of series and that it was more urban fantasy. When you read her books you can see the progression / evolution of her writing. At first she wrote great steamy romances with strong heroines and alpha heroes. But now her books grab you by the throat and don't let go. Her world building is such that you see the world through her eyes. Call me weird but I'm the type of reader who when I like an author I tend to fall into the story so much that I get emotionally involved with the characters. Sometimes to the point where I have to walk away from the book for a bit .It just gets to much. Well with Ms. Moning, it's every single on of her Fae books. I've had to put every single of of them down, sometimes 1/2 way through, this time with her newest Iced I had to put it down not even 1/4 of the way through. Ridiculous I know but she brings these people to life for me. Hopefully most of our reviews won't be so long winded (odds are they will be though ) Until next timeSource photo by: fantasticfiction.co.uk